The Forest
by QueenStrata
Summary: AU. The tales say that you'll never leave the forest, but they don't say why. *Roxas/Namine, Axel/Roxas*


_A/N: I'm sorry this isn't _His Last Request_, but I started writing this story and totally fell in love with it. It's not my best...but so far it's definitely my favorite. Maybe second favorite, but I haven't posted that other one yet so uh. Yeah._

_Edit: Gah, scene breaks have become nonexistent. Putting the long (annoying) lines in to make the site happy and still retain my layouty-thing, because this looks all fucked up without the breaks._

_Warnings: Uh. Almost-porn? And it's supposed to be written like a fairy tale...so a bit of a weird style._

_Disclaimer: Let me just tell you guys...if I owned these characters, Axel wouldn't have died. And I'd have money._

_Summary: AU. The tales say that you'll never leave the forest, but they don't say why._

_Dedication: To my darling Curly, a fic written ESPECIALLY FOR YOU. Happy belated birthday, ILU._

* * *

**The Forest**

Once upon a time, in a land far away yet eerily similar to ours, there was a town where the sun neither set nor rose, a town that was aptly named Twilight Town. It was a city in the standards of those days, and a dangerous place to be--inside the borders roamed various gangs and fugitives from outside law, and there were many small areas that were dangerous to wander in (even when the ever-present twilight was at its brightest). But even more frightening than Twilight itself was the dark forest that was the questionable border of the town's most dangerous outskirts. It was said that wicked spirits and dangerous beasts dwelled in the deepest recesses, where the foliage was so thick that the darkness completely overwhelmed all the senses--not that anyone had ever been foolish enough to wander in that far. Some people had simply seen the shadows of animals, heard unexplainable roars or noises, had been scared out of their minds by one thing or another and forced to retreat for their lives and to spread the story amongst the townsmen so all would know not to trespass in the forest without a name.

Now, in this town of Twilight, there lived a young man named Roxas. He was a coldly distant boy with many admirers and little passion. He was said to be the bravest of the men in the village, braver even than the original adventurers of the forest. There was nothing that he feared, because there was nothing that he couldn't beat, and so he was unconcerned about the fairy tales that he had grown up with. He was quick to dismiss them as fables, nothing more than stories to keep people from venturing out and getting lost in the darkness. And so it was no true surprise when he declared that he was going to head into the forest in search of excitement, icy eyes daring anyone to stop him. When nobody stepped forward, he left without even any acknowledgment of the fact that everybody was certain he wouldn't return.

The forest was very soothing to Roxas, who enjoyed the hectic tranquility of nature and felt safer in the dark. He made his way into the forest slowly, taking his time to examine everything around him. There were many plants and creatures he had never seen before, and he catalogued them in his mind for a later time, so he could properly describe them to the people of the town. All of the inhabitants of the forest he'd seen thus far were small and unthreatening, and he silently scoffed the fears of the obviously overreacting men of the village as he efficiently made his camp.

Late that night, as he lay contentedly staring into the fire he'd built to keep himself warm, he was visited by one of the supposedly wicked spirits of the forest. He'd been trying to decipher shapes in the fire, a mild amusement at best, when he'd glanced up at the feel of a nearby presence. What he saw rendered him speechless, for before him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It had the shape of a horse, but for the long horn protruding proudly from its forehead, and it let off a gentle glow as it stood there, seemingly as stunned as Roxas was. The creature raised a single foreleg and took a half of a step forward before pausing and looking away and then looking back at him, head tilted. Roxas remained where he was, hardly daring to breathe lest he frighten the creature off. It seemed like hours that the two stared at each other, but could have been no more than a few minutes, until finally the not-horse walked over to Roxas and lay down beside him, eyes never leaving his. Roxas slowly reached out to pet it, running his fingers through its mane until the creature relaxed and put her head in Roxas' lap. Roxas closed his eyes and continued with his ministrations until he fell asleep.

His dreams that night were filled with visions of a petite blonde girl, long legs stretching out from the bottom of her plain white dress. There was a sadness in her breathtaking blue eyes that Roxas didn't like to see, but it lessened as he approached and she smiled gently at him. Roxas found himself smiling back, .andt was unconcerned about his uncharacteristic fondness for the girl as he wrapped an arm around her thin waist and they walked aimlessly around Twilight Town. They eventually made their way to the forest, where they decided to sit down to rest against the trunk of a large tree, laughing softly with each other. The initial kiss seemed to catch them both by surprise, and the girl looked away with a blush. Roxas turned her face back to his and reinitiated the kiss, gently pushing her down to the ground and taking his time to explore her body with his hands. It was a slow seduction as he pulled his lips from hers to trail them across her cheek and down her neck, and he was just starting to slide the strap of her dress down her shoulder when he woke with a start, heart beating heavily in his chest.

When he looked around a few minutes later, he was disappointed to see that the majestic creature from the night before had disappeared. He half-figured that he had only dreamt the entire thing, for there was no such thing as a horse with a horn and he had never before seen the girl from his dreams, so he gathered up his camp and once again began his trek deeper into the forest.

He eventually came upon a large clearing, which he began crossing with little thought as to why it might be in the midst of such a heavily wooded area. A strong wind picked up as he neared the middle of the grassy ground, and he looked up with a gasp at the deafening cry of a bird. The thing was enormous, far larger than any bird he had dared to imagine, with dull silver feathers and frightening yellow eyes, and it was coming for him. He wasn't sure if the bird was protecting something or if it had decided he would make a fine meal, but he turned to run before he could find out--only to stop short as what appeared to be a flame-red flying snake came rushing toward him. For a moment, he was certain he was going to die, but the new creature made a sharp turn upwards and Roxas turned to watch as it breathed fire at the enormous bird. Roxas found himself in awe of the lizard's deadly grace as it fought with the bird, hardly even getting a scratch as it quickly won the battle. It didn't even watch as the bird flew away, instead turning to Roxas and moving to coil its long body around him. As the young man stared into the serpent's intelligent green eyes, he wondered if he had been saved only to serve as a meal to a different beast. But he was quickly disillusioned of this concept as the fire-snake uncoiled itself almost entirely away from Roxas, but for the edge of its tail that was wrapped firmly around his ankle. Figuring that the beast wanted him to say, Roxas nodded at it and slowly lowered his small bag to the ground to begin setting up his camp, the beast lighting a fire for him.

His dreams that night were filled with the image of a tall man whose wicked grin seemed to make his bright green eyes glow. This man was the very opposite of the girl he'd dreamed of the night before, making the first move and pulling a startled Roxas into his lap and then pushing the smaller man onto his back on the ground. He wasn't shy about what he wanted, hands everywhere as he ground himself into Roxas' body with his mouth moving down Roxas' neck, biting and sucking as much as it was kissing, and then hungrily back to Roxas' lips. A large hand forced its way into his pants and had just wrapped around him when he was suddenly awake, unable to breathe or think about anything but what he'd just imagined.

When he finally convinced his body to sit up, the first thing he'd noticed was the snake from the night before staring unnervingly at him. Roxas found himself blushing, though he knew he didn't have any reason to be embarrassed in front of an animal, and hastily began packing up. Once everything was together, he turned to stare longingly into the deeper parts of the forest, but he wasn't sure if he could handle any more of those intriguingly realistic dreams. So he turned back the way he had come, stealing himself to return to the village only half victoriously.

The fire breather followed him halfway back through the forest, and Roxas found himself grateful for the odd company. They parted silently, Roxas with a bow and the snake with a flick of its tongue, and Roxas continued on. When he reached the area where he'd fallen asleep with the not-horse, the creature stepped out of the shadows and approached him. He noticed absently that it had the same sadness in its blue eyes as the girl from his first dream and he only wished he could take it away from the animal as easily as he'd taken it away from the girl. He was rather surprised when the horned beast decide to accompany him home, and placed a gentle hand on its back as they walked together. Roxas was shocked when he discovered himself on the outskirts of Twilight Town without having had to stay in the forest for the night again, and stared for a brief moment before turning to the animal to say goodbye, but it had once again disappeared.

* * *

The villagers greeted Roxas with shock and joy, all naturally happy and surprised to see him return unscathed. Roxas quickly informed everyone that he would gladly tell them his tales the next day, for though it was difficult to tell with the constant twilight, it was nearing time for everyone to be asleep and Roxas was exhausted. So the people let him go with little complaint, their concern for his wellbeing obvious--for nobody had expected him to return at all, let alone in three days with a wild look in his eyes that Roxas seemed entirely unaware of.

Roxas' dreams that night seemed incapable of settling on one thing. They started with him sitting atop the clock tower with a melting Popsicle staining his fingers, to him lost so deep in the forest that he couldn't see an inch in front of him due to the darkness, to him following a softly glowing and ever moving trail, to him sitting before a fire watching snakes dance in the flames. He woke with a start at what he knew to be dawn and sat up to fling the windows by his bed open and lean out, breathing the early morning air in deeply.

There was a girl on the road by his house. Roxas stared down at her, the familiar white dress and long legs, and when she looked up at him she had that same sadness in her eyes from the dream. For a moment, Roxas found himself unable to move. Then she lifted her hands before her face, fingers interlaced except the one that stood up as if to warn him to be silent. Roxas leapt from his bed and stormed downstairs, dodging his family and nearly flinging himself out the door.

The girl was gone already and he turned a complete circle in his confusion, eyes wild and panting as if he'd run a mile. There were few people out this early in the morning, but the people who were turned to stare at him, and Roxas pushed down an urge to blush as he turned to walk back into his house and get ready for the day.

Most of the morning was spent doing chores and running errands, catching up on the things he'd missed out on in the short amount of time he'd been gone. In the afternoon, he'd gone home for a blessedly dream-free nap, and then that night had begun making his way to the tavern so he could begin telling his story. Halfway there, he saw a flash of red from the corner of his eyes, and stopped mid-step to turn and look at it, hardly believing the way his heart was beating. The man caught his gaze and Roxas knew the wicked grin that appeared as the redhead gave him a mocking salute. But just as he was about to take off running after his dream, a small body collided with his and he was distracted for the slightest of moments before the child ran off again with a hasty apology. When he looked back up, the man was gone.

The man slid from his mind when he found his seat at the tavern and all eyes turned to him. He began his story detailing all of the creatures and plants he'd seen in the beginning of the forest, taking care to mention how harmless everything was and how nothing tried to hurt him. The people looked mostly disappointed at his lack of excitement, and he hesitated to tell them about the most important parts of his story. But the men noticed how he seemed suddenly reticent, how quickly he'd gone from cheerfully describing everything to not wanting to say anything at all. And so they urged him on, plying him with alcohol, and Roxas eventually caved in. He described the beauty of the not-horse down to every glowing detail, smiling a little as he remembered how she'd laid her head in his lap. He described the clearing with the menacing bird, and the wicked grace of the snake-like creature that had saved his life and (though this part was a lie) convinced Roxas to leave the forest for his own safety.

He didn't mention his dreams, even in passing.

* * *

That night he was chasing the girl through an oddly darkened Twilight Town, seeing her disappearing around a corner every time he thought he'd caught up to her. He was nearly about to give up when he saw her in full for the first time that night, hands behind her back and a sad smile on her face. She raised a hand to him in a slight wave before disappearing into the building she'd been standing in front of, and Roxas bolted after her, following her pale form up curling flights of stairs and eventually bursting out the doors and skidding to a halt. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but the tall man was standing at the very edge of the clock tower, the pensive look on his face making Roxas wary. He approached the man slowly, looking around for the girl. He stopped a foot before his dream, heart beating heavily in his chest as the other held out a hand with a frightening blankness to his face. Roxas stepped forward hesitantly, holding out a hand of his own and unsure if he wanted to take the man's. He was just about to put his own hand into the man's larger one when the girl appeared slightly to the side with an expectant look on her face, and he stopped to look at her. He knew, somehow, that what he did now would effect the outcome of whatever was going on, that what he did in this ridiculous dream meant something. He pulled his hand back slightly as he looked into her sad eyes, incapable of making a decision, and then he felt the man shift and he looked up to a frown that was topped by expressively hopeful eyes and his breath caught in his throat. He took one last look at the girl, gave her an apologetic smile that she returned, and placed his hand in the tall man's.

The familiar wicked grin immediately spread across the man's face as he wrapped his finger's around Roxas' smaller hand and tugged him forward--the girl disappeared as he stumbled into the redhead's body, and the man wrapped long arms around Roxas and held on tight as they tumbled off the edge of the clock tower. Roxas buried his face in the man's chest and listened to his heartbeat and the sound of the wind and a voice saying "make me feel like…" and he knew the ground was coming--

He landed with a loud thunk on the floor next to his bed, tangled in the sheets and breathing heavily, eyes wild with fear and hope. He got to his feet and looked around his room, wondering if maybe this was going to be the last time he got to see it. He pulled out his favorite clothes, black and white with the barest hint of red, and dressed distractedly before making his way downstairs and toward the forest. Some of the villagers watched him as he walked by, staring at him with wide eyes, and a few of the braver ones even stopped what they were doing to follow him. Roxas paid them no mind, not caring what anyone was about to see.

Halfway through the outskirts, he was brought up short as the girl appeared suddenly before him. The surrounding villagers gasped, but Roxas just quietly stared at her as she looked around before turning to face him with the saddest smile he'd ever seen on her face. She didn't speak, but Roxas knew somehow that she had just wanted to see him once more, to make sure she could remember what she had almost had. Roxas opened his mouth to apologize, aware that his decision had hurt her--she put a finger to his lips to shush him, he blinked in surprise, and she was gone.

Shaking his head and ignoring the gossiping of the people, he began moving forward again, longer-than-usual strides taking him to the very edges of the outskirts in record time. He was stopped by one of the concerned men before he could get a chance to enter, and he hardly had a chance to shake his head and pull away before a startled scream brought his attention back to his destination. The red snake flew out from between the trees and morphed into the form of a familiar man before his eyes. Roxas had to resist the urge to run for him, instead waiting for the man to reach him and pull him into a deep kiss without saying a word. Roxas pushed himself into it, holding on as if his life depended on their embrace. He couldn't see the bright light surrounding the two of them, but he could feel something change with a suddenness that made him dizzy, that made him pull away and curl up in the man's arms--except suddenly there were no arms around him, just a flexible body tangled and coiled with his own long frame.

Roxas untangled himself to inspect his new form, black and white with the occasional thin red stripe, thin and long, though not quite as long as the other. He flew up into the air and breathed out an experimental blast of fire, dived back down to loop around the stunned villagers, and then he was off into the forest chasing after his disappearing red companion and strangely content in the knowledge that he would never be seen again.

* * *

_A/N: For the record, the ending was originally going to be completely different (and highly ambiguous), but then I decided that that would be awful mean for a birthday fic, so you guys got this instead. Um. Reviews make me happy?_


End file.
